Following the announcement that £27 million of Government grants will be available to farmers in England to invest in productivity boosting equipment, LH Agro has confirmed that a range of its Topcon precision farming technology is eligible for the funding.
Farming Minister Victoria Prentis announced in mid-November 2021 that farmers and growers in England could apply for the Farming Investment Fund grants to buy new equipment and infrastructure to help improve production efficiencies.
LH Agro, Topcon’s preferred distributor in the UK, has subsequently confirmed that the grants can be used to offset the costs of the following eligible equipment:
- Topcon CropSpec canopy sensors: £11,250 grant funding
- Topcon sprayer ECU (section and variable rate controller): £1,850 grant funding
- Topcon yield monitoring ECU (for combines and root crop harvesters): £1,850 grant funding
- Manure spreader ECU (section and variable rate controller): £1,250 grant funding
“At a time when input prices such as fertiliser are at an all time high, it’s pleasing to be able to announce that financial assistance is available to reduce the cost of investing in an array of precision farming equipment which can help to reduce input usage,” LH Agro managing director Richard Reed said.
“The time and money saving benefits of RTK and GPS enabled auto-steering and implement guidance systems are well documented, with improved accuracy and reduced drilling overlaps and misses at the crop establishment phase a given,” he added. “But precision farming technologies can also improve the accuracy of fertiliser and spray applications later in the cropping calendar, with real-time crop sensors such as Topcon’s CropSpec system (which could now be available at a net starting price of a little more than £1,000 after grant funding) enabling growers to ensure fertiliser inputs are applied at the right rate, at the right time and in the right place.
“Aftermarket sprayer control ECUs and manure spreader controllers that add variable rate and section control capabilities to existing implements can also improve farm production efficiencies, as can aftermarket yield monitors that feed vital harvest information back into the farm manager’s office.”
